New Cisco Survey Shows Strong Relationship Between Privacy Awareness and Trust in AI

Cisco announced the release of its 2024 Consumer Privacy Survey, an annual global review of consumer perception and behavior regarding data privacy. This year’s survey highlights the critical role of privacy rights awareness in fostering consumer trust and confidence in emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence.  

Consumer awareness is on the rise. This year, 53% report being aware of their national privacy laws, a 17-percentage point increase compared to 2019. Informed consumers are also much more likely to feel their data is protected (81%) compared to those who are unaware (44%).  

The survey reveals that 63% believe AI can be useful in improving their lives​. The use of Generative AI (GenAI) has nearly doubled, with 23% of respondents using it regularly, up from 12% last year. However, 44% of surveyed consumers remain unaware of GenAI. While users say they are gaining significant value from GenAI supporting content creation work, they are concerned about safety, potential misuse and societal risks. 

Focusing on privacy, 30% of GenAI users say they enter personal or confidential information, including financial and health details, into GenAI tools. This is despite 84% being concerned about that data going public.   

Privacy and data protection has evolved from relative obscurity to a customer requirement with more than 75% of consumers saying they won’t purchase from an organization they don’t trust with their data. This translates into concrete actions as more consumers are becoming "Privacy Active," particularly younger ones. To safeguard their privacy, 49% of consumers aged 25-34 have switched companies or providers over their data policies or data-sharing practices, compared to just 18% of those aged 75+.  

The survey found that consumers aged 25-34 are also most aware of their privacy rights (64% vs. 33% of those aged 65+). It also shows a significant increase (36% vs. 28% last year) in how consumers exercise their right to access, correct, delete or transfer their personal data via Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs). Once more, younger consumers lead the way, with 46% of them taking these actions, compared to only 16% of those aged 65+.   

In addition, consumers are leveraging security tools to safeguard their data. In the 12 months prior to the survey, 67% reviewed or updated their privacy settings in apps or platforms. 68% say they use multi-factor authentication, and 61% use a password manager to protect and keep track of their passwords. 

A significant majority (70%) of all consumers surveyed believe that privacy laws have a positive impact, with only 5% perceiving a negative impact. They increasingly favor privacy protections, with 77% of respondents supporting similar rules across countries and regions to ensure baseline privacy protections. In the US, 81% of respondents favor a US Federal Privacy law.  

Source: Cisco media announcement